The incident occurred at around 10:44am on 13th March when a passenger train travelling at 54 mph nearly hit a track worker on the London Paddington to Penzance main line near Littlehempston, near Totnes, Devon
The track worker involved was the controller of site safety (COSS) for a group working on signal troughing nearby. The group had been working using a ‘separated’ system of work, which requires staff to remain at least two metres away from any open line.
The group involved in the incident consisted of the COSS and five track operatives, all of whom had been provided by PACE Infrastructure Solutions to Colas Rail. The COSS was also the person in charge (PIC) for the work being undertaken. A PIC is responsible for all aspects of safety while the team is on the track.
The near miss occurred after the COSS left the group and moved close to a line which was still open to rail traffic, placing them at risk of being struck.
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As the train approached, the COSS stepped into the space alongside the line outside the ballast shoulder just two seconds before the train passed.
The RAIB found that the incident occurred because the COSS moved out of the safe area that had been established as part of the separated system of work and close to the adjacent line which was open to traffic.
Due to overhanging vegetation and the tight curve in the track, the COSS was obscured from the driver’s view until around five seconds before the train reached him.
Around a second later the driver sounded the warning horn and CCTV images show that, in response, the COSS moved into the vegetation by the side of the track. The train driver immediately reported the near miss to the signaller.
